Escape Clause III: Nesting
by willynilly23
Summary: This picks up 3 months into Annie's pregnancy as established in Escape Clause II.
1. Chapter 1

Notes: This follows Escape Clause II: One Year Later and picks up about 3 months into Annie's pregnancy.

"I have to…." Annie partially announced before retching into the toilet while Auggie showered.

"Good morning to you too," Auggie laughed.

"Sorry, couldn't wait," Annie apologized as she tried to control her breathing and settle her stomach.

She flushed the toilet and waited a second to make sure she was really done before brushing her teeth.

"Generally vomit is very impatient," Auggie said wisely as he turned off the water and reached for a towel.

"I thought it was tapering off, I'm almost through with the first trimester," Annie inhaled through her nose and exhaled fully.

"Doctor Fuller said it varied," he pointed out.

"Pregnancy is kind of cruel, I am simultaneously hungry, nauseous and horny almost constantly," she added the last upon seeing her husband naked and damp in the reflection of the mirror.

"I have enjoyed the first and third enormously," he smiled.

"Speaking of the first…."

"Get in the shower, I'll make you something," he sidled up behind her, still naked, and kissed her neck, placing his hands securely on her abdomen.

His tongue snuck out to trace the shell of her ear and Annie's knees went weak, her whole body shuddered with desire.

"Breakfast can wait," she decided as she turned to face Auggie pulling her nightgown off over her head as she did.

"Mmmm minty," he smiled as she kissed him with her freshly brushed teeth.

Annie hopped up on the vanity and pulled him to her, her fingers coaxing his body to match her seemingly constant state of arousal.

"I want you all the time," Annie purred in his ear and was rewarded with the most delicious moan.

"You are so sexy," he ground out as he ran his hands along her sides, teasingly close to her breasts.

Annie leaned back to look at his face, felt the faucet at the base of her spine and the cool of the medicine cabinet mirror on her shoulders.

"Wait, I want to watch," She pushed him back enough so she could hop off the counter and turned her back to him.

His hands found her shoulders and traced her spine before grasping her hips Annie watched in the mirror the combination of focus and desire on Auggie's face, her own want visible in her eyes and the set of her jaw.

"So sexy," he repeated and leaned forward to place a kiss between her shoulder blades.

Annie braced her arms on the counter, careful to keep from hitting the edge of the sink over and over.

"More," she urged.

She saw the indecision cross over his face.

"It's ok," she promised.

She saw the exact moment he let go of his apprehension and succumb to his own desire. Annie couldn't control the words falling from her mouth, some of which sounded an awful lot like profanity. Her vocal enthusiasm was more than Auggie could handle. Auggie tried hard to hold out long enough, to give Annie everything she needs and is rewarded for his efforts as his name echoes off the bathroom walls.

"Oh God," he wrapped his arms around her uncertain how steady her knees were.

She turned in his arms, fused her mouth to his. While she enjoyed the view in the mirror she missed kissing him, so she made up for that, her arms winding around his neck. He reached down and lifted her legs up , encouraging them around his waist and walked them back, negotiating the doorframe easily and carrying her back to bed.

"We have to go to work," she protested despite being the one to instigate the distraction.

"I need to kiss you for a few minutes," Auggie explained as he laid her gently on the bed, crawled on next to her and resumed the kissing.

"Did we just have sex in the bathroom?" Annie asked after a couple minutes of kissing.

"Don't you remember? Give me 10 minutes we can refresh your memory," he laughed and moved the kissing to her neck.

"Have we ever had sex in a bathroom before?" Annie was trying to remember but his lips on her skin were very distracting.

"Once in my old apartment and once at the hotel in Paris," he mentioned. "And that's like complete, up against the wall sex, I don't think I can count the number of really pleasant shared bathing experiences."

"Oh God," she rolled him on his back and crawled on top of him. "Do you think I can call in hormonal?"

"You probably could, Joan would understand, but I doubt I could. So then what would you do?" he asked innocently.

"I'd figure something out," she giggled before leaning down to kiss him again.

***555***

"I need to go to Philadelphia," Annie announced as she swept in to Tech Ops later that day.

"I know, I just got the alert," Auggie turned from his monitor.

"Should only be 1 night, maybe 2," she perused the file.

"Do you need anything from the house?"

"No, my go bag in the car will be sufficient. Do you have anything in the car you need?"

"No, I should be fine. I'll arrange for a car or Barber will bring me home. I'll miss you, be careful."

"I'll be fine, it is a simple interrogation," she reached out and brushed his hair from his forehead, placed a soft kiss there and with that she was gone.

The end of the day rapidly appeared and Auggie finished up the report he was working on for Joan and he realized he never arranged the car service.

"Hey boss, you need a ride?" Barber appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"Funny you should mention that," Auggie smiled.

"I saw Annie leave earlier," Barber shrugged.

"I appreciate it, I got caught up on the DOJ report and now it is….6:30," he felt his watch to confirm.

"I can be ready in 5," Barber noted.

"How about we grab some take out on the way, Annie and I were planning to go grocery shopping tonight, but take out will be much better."

"Great," Barber agreed and began shutting down his station.

With a big bag of Thai food and a fresh six pack Auggie led Barber into the condo as his cell rang announcing Annie.

"I'll stick this in the fridge, want one?" Barber indicated the beer.

"Please. Hey," he answered both Barber and the phone.

"Hey, I'm done for the evening thought I'd call."

"You doing OK?"

"Yeah, waiting on a salad from room service, you?"

"Just got home with Barber and Thai food."

"Oh yeah, I left you with no food," she sounded contrite.

"No worries, there is cereal and milk and coffee. I'll survive," he grinned into the phone.

"OK, enjoy your dinner, tell Barber I said hey."

"Get some rest, call me tomorrow. Love you," he whispered.

"I love you so much," she replied and hung up.

"Annie OK?"

"Yeah, already at the hotel for the night," Auggie said as Barber brushed the beer against his hand.

As Barber turned back to the kitchen to start unpacking the food something caught his eye, on the credenza behind the couch was a well-read, dog-eared post-it-laden copy of What to Expect When You're Expecting, the pregnant woman on the cover evidence that the book was exactly what he thought it was. This was one of the things about being friends with Auggie that was hard to navigate. If Auggie could see he would know Barber had seen the book, but right now he had no idea. Barber wasn't sure what to do, so he decided to have dinner.

After dinner, with enough left-overs packed away to get Auggie through one more night, the guys retired to the living room for another beer and the end of the hockey game. With the confusion of Annie's call upon arrival Auggie had failed to empty his pockets, so he went to the credenza first to put his keys, phone and wallet in the tray he kept there, in the years of living with Annie he sometimes forgot, knowing she would gladly scan the room for his phone if he left it somewhere random.

As he did so he brushed his hands along the surface and found the book. He knew it was the book because he had Annie mark pages that he thought would be useful and the spine had been cracked from her curling up with it in bed reading to him about fetal development. As his fingers made contact with it he heard Barber suck in a breath.

"I saw it, I wasn't going to say anything, none of my business," Barber held his hands up in surrender.

"It's OK Barber, you could have asked, we're pregnant not Scientologists," Auggie smirked.

"So you are? Going to have a baby?" Barber took a seat.

"Well not me personally, but Annie, yes," Auggie continued to tease.

"And that's all good?" Barber hedged.

"Barber which part freaks you out, the blind dad or the spy mom?" Auggie found a spot at the end of the couch.

"Neither," he said instantly, "or both. It's just kids man, they freak me out."

"Trust me, Annie and I are sufficiently freaked out," Auggie assured. "We've only told Joan and our families, it is still a little early."

"Yeah Annie is still skinny," Barber commented in case Auggie was not completely aware of every inch of his wife's body.

"Not for long, there is a definite change in her shape. She goes into the 2nd trimester in a week or so, we will start telling people then."

"I'm not a very good spy," Barber sighed. "She hasn't been shot at or had to jump off a building in months and she totally ran out of that briefing last week like she needed to puke, it is all coming together."

"Don't be too harsh on yourself Barber, you are a great spy, Annie is just better," Auggie smirked.

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

After the entertainingly awkward moment with Barber, Auggie was unsure how the rest of their co-workers would react to the baby announcement, but it seemed to go fine. After Annie had a good check-up and ultrasound they told everyone on their team. Langley being the hotbed of gossip that it was, most of the building then knew by lunch. Turned out that married people having babies wasn't really that interesting and the gossip died down fast.

It was also eclipsed, by the bombing.

"At 3:17 p.m. an Improvised Electronic Device was detonated near the Lincoln Memorial," Joan said solemnly. "There are 2 confirmed casualties and numerous injuries. The Bureau and Homeland were onsite within minutes, but we are being tasked with tracking this down. We had no active chatter on a domestic attack, preliminary reports are that the device was crude and the Mall has been shut down, cleared out and is being combed for any additional devices. We need to figure out who did this, why and how we had no idea it was coming."

The office turned into a frenzy of activity, logs pulled phone records traced, watch lists and known discussion boards scoured. It was after 10 pm before Auggie saw Annie again.

"Hey, you here?" he asked as her desk area was silent.

"Yeah," she said as she stared at the screen trying to find any inkling of a lead.

"You should head home, get some rest," he suggested.

"Auggie, this is kind of a crisis, I can't run home cause I'm sleepy."

"You aren't sleepy, you're pregnant and I'm sure Joan would agree," he said sternly.

"Are you threatening me?" she turned on him amused.

"No, I am just making sure you take care of yourself. I know how easy it is to get lost in a crisis like this," he sighed

"I am a grown up woman Auggie, I can manage myself just fine, I promise," she said the last part gentler than the first, she knew he was just being Auggie.

"OK, but if you need anything please speak up. I'll be in Conference Room B with the team," he reached for her and found an arm, a strong solid arm that he knew was evidence of his strong wife.

"I promise," Annie patted his hand before he turned to leave.

***555***

"Um Auggie," Barber poked his head into Conference Room B around 2:00 am while the team still worked hard at identifying the bomber.

"Yeah," Auggie looked up from his monitor.

"Can I see you out here?" Barber pointed to the hall for the benefit of everyone but Auggie.

"Sure," he said tiredly and stood to follow Barber out of the room.

"Um, don't panic or anything, but Annie is in the infirmary."

"Of course she is, fully grown woman my ass. Is she OK?" Auggie asked fully concerned.

"Yeah, she fainted, but she's awake now," Barber reported.

"OK, thanks. Hey can you take over in there for a bit, they are running cellular triangulation on all the traffic around the Mall," Auggie explained.

"Absolutely," Barber agreed and headed into Conference Room B.

"I probably should have gone home to rest," Annie said as Auggie came through the door and the fact that she sounded OK and her admission of guilt brought a smile to his face.

"You alright?" he made his way to the bed and found her hand, noting the IV he by-passed it and leaned down to kiss her cheek instead.

"Yeah, just dehydrated and a little tired," she admitted.

"Barber said you fainted, did you hit your head?" he moved his lips along her hairline testing for tender spots.

"No, I didn't even hit the ground, Barber caught me. He didn't mention that part?"

"No, he left that out," Auggie smiled against her temple.

"I came to and Barber had me by the underarms and I looked up and he looked completely panicked, it was kind of amusing."

"Not every day such a beautiful woman falls into Eric Barber's arms," Auggie laughed.

"I'm sorry I didn't take a break. I was tracking some solid leads and time got away from me and I sent something to the encrypted printer and I got up from my desk and made it about 5 steps before I went down."

"Well I am glad Eric was there to catch you. What's this?" he tapped her hand near the IV.

"Just saline, to rehydrate me quicker," she assured.

"Here we go Ms. Walker…." a medic appeared with some food. "Sorry didn't realize you had company."

"That's OK this is my husband," Annie explained.

"Ah, Mr. Anderson, nice to meet you. Your wife and the baby are fine, just needed a little food and rest, no cause for alarm," the medic assured.

"Thank you," he said sincerely.

"I have to head back, will you stay here for a while and really get some rest?" Auggie asked sweetly.

"I will," she agreed and turned her hand in his pulling him closer encouraging him down where she could kiss him.

"I love you," he whispered.

She nodded rubbing her nose gently against his.

"Get some sleep, I'll come and brief you in a few hours," he kissed her softly again and made his way back to Conference Room B.

"She OK?" Barber asked.

"She is, thank you Eric," Auggie squeezed the man's shoulder, looked as closely into his eyes as he could, and got back to work.

***555***

"Do you want a boy or a girl?" Auggie asked sleepily a week later as they settled into bed.

The FBI had caught the bomber who turned out to be less of a terrorist and more mentally ill. Joan had given the team some extra time off to rest up and Annie and Auggie's started the next day.

"I know girls, they are less scary to me, but I would love a little tiny version of you," she smiled and snuggled closer to him. "You?"

"No preference really, if I have learned anything from you Annie Walker it's that anything a boy can do a girl can do better," he kissed her shoulder.

"I still don't want to find out, life has so few surprises," Annie said and felt Auggie smile.

"OK, maybe we have a few more surprises than most in our lives, but still."

"What do you want to do with our 4 days off?" she asked.

"We're doing it," he chuckled.

"You want to lounge around in bed for 4 days?"

"Don't you?"

"I would spend every possible moment in bed with you without argument, but don't you think we should do something productive?"

"I am feeling immensely productive," he leered as his hands found a particularly sensitive spot on her body.

"Maybe we could sneak out one of the days and do a little shopping, window and otherwise," she suggested.

"Nursery stuff?"

"Eventually, but right now I need underwear, mine no longer seem to fit right."

"Stop wearing it, problem solved," he kissed along the column of her neck.

"You are a riot, no. I also need some clothes that aren't quite so tailored. I don't think I need maternity clothes just yet, but soon. "

"Sure, I don't want my baby momma popping out of her suits at work," he joked.

"Thanks," she snorted at the image.

"Whatever you need Annie. I am starting to like this though," he ran his hand over her slightly rounded stomach up to her fuller breasts. "I bet you look gorgeous. Are you glowing, do you glow?"

"I look a little softer," she searched for the right word.

"Are you really OK with the changes at work, I know how much you like the action?" he asked nervously.

"I'm doing OK. Joan has been great, she really has tailored my caseload to demonstrate how much I can contribute without the danger, without the risk. I came really close to thinking this job couldn't be productive without being life threatening, this gives me a lot of new perspective," she reached down and twisted his wedding ring on the hand that lay across their child.

"Me or the baby?"

"Both, you always gave me perspective Auggie, you know that, you are the one thing that has always made sense to me."

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

"Auggie…." She said quietly, no response.

"Auggie…." She raised her volume, no response.

"Auggie…." Louder still and accompanied by a strategically placed hand.

His eyes popped open and as soon as he realized what she was doing a smirk appeared on his sleep-creased face.

"Morning," he mumbled and leaned into her touch.

"We need to have sex," she said very officially.

"We need to go back to sleep," he offered an alternate activity.

"The alarm is going to go off in 20 minutes and then we have to go to work and by the time we get out of work Danielle and the girls will be here," Annie explained as she rolled him on his back and began kissing down his rib cage.

"I know, you went over this last night when we were having sex. I still don't understand why we can't have sex while they are here," he wrinkled his forehead.

"Because you are too loud," she said as if he should have remembered that part from last night's discussion.

"First, I don't think I am the loudest person in this bed and next, we can attempt to be quiet," he offered.

"Really?" Annie asked from her spot near his waist.

Annie considered this a challenge and proceeded to illicit a fairly loud moan in just a matter of moments.

"Annie…." Auggie argued.

"Mmmmm," she asked from her current position.

"Our last sex for 4 days is not going to be much fun for you if you keep that up," he explained clearly.

"Oh trust me, that was fun for me," she kissed her way back up his body.

Her recently obvious baby bump meant she had to crawl over him on all fours and he gently scooped her off of him and rolled her onto her back, kissing his own way along her body and stopping at the bump.

"Your mother is insatiable," he spoke against her taught skin.

"Auggie, don't, the baby can hear you now," she swatted at his messy hair.

"The bones in the ear have formed and the fetus can hear, but I am pretty sure it doesn't understand language yet, so it can't possibly know what insatiable means, unless it is psychic. Oh my god, do you think our baby is psychic?" he looked up alarmed.

"No more X Files re-runs for you," she laughed.

"Your mommy is so beautiful and I love her so much," Auggie amended his previous statement for the fetus' sake.

"You are so sweet, now get up here and make love to me," she tugged him close and kissed him thoroughly.

***555***

The work day flew by and suddenly Auggie tucked his headphones safely away.

"Barber, you around?" he asked the room.

"Yeah man, what's up?"

"Annie and I are leaving in a few minutes to pick up her sister and the girls at National. If I am not here on Monday morning, " Auggie began solemnly, "I have died of some sort of estrogen-induced attack brought on by spending all my time with 4 females, one of whom is pregnant."

"Dude, just don't let them paint your toe nails. I let my nieces paint my toe nails once and then totally forgot about it and someone at the gym pointed them out to me in the locker room, not cool," Barber dispensed his wisdom about nieces.

"I'll keep that in mind," Auggie nodded.

"You ready?" Annie arrived keys in hand.

"Yep," Auggie grinned.

"Have a fun weekend!" Barber waved.

***555***

Annie found her and Auggie a couple of seats near the baggage carousel marked for Danielle's flight and waited as hoards of people streamed out impatient for their bags.

"You ready for this?" she asked casually as she played with his wedding ring, his hand on her knee.

"Of course, I have seen combat, surely I can handle a house full of girls for a weekend," he said with more conviction than he felt.

"I appreciate you being OK with them staying at the house."

"Annie, they are family, I wasn't going to make them stay in a hotel," he scoffed although he had looked at prices at some of DC's finest.

"They're here, let's go," she said in exactly the same tone she used to identify marks in the field.

"Annie!" screeching of little girls transcended the hustle of the baggage claim area.

"Hi guys," Annie waved happily.

"We missed you," Auggie thought that was Chloe who spoke.

"Hey Auggie," Danielle brushed her hand against his and he reached out to hug her.

"Good flight?" he asked.

"These 2 were a little hyper, but otherwise pretty good," she squeezed him before letting go.

"Hey Dani," Annie released the little girls in turn for her sister.

"Look at you," Danielle practically whispered.

Everyone had expected Danielle to squeal at the site of Annie and her baby bump, but the sight in reality actually took her breath away. She remembered being shot at in Stockholm, sitting by her bedside as she recovered from two gunshot wounds to the chest a year later, remembered getting the phone call before Annie and Auggie fled the country, being transported cross-country when they returned and got married, all the ways this moment might never have happened for these two wonderful people and instead of squealing she just held Annie closed, stroked her hair and said "I'm so happy for you," into her ear,

"OK, I can't see what's going on here, but I bet we are bordering on long distance telephone commercial schmaltzy right now," Auggie teased.

"Yep," Annie agreed her voice edged with happy tears.

"OK, let's get the bags and blow this pop stand. I know Annie is hungry, anyone else want dinner?"

Annie elbowed him for the hungry comment, but agreed she could use a meal and the bags were quickly id'd and retrieved.

***555***

Auggie woke up Saturday morning, alone. He listened in case Annie was sick, although her morning sickness had all but disappeared in the past week, and when he heard nothing figured Annie was downstairs. He checked the time and found it was almost 8:00 am, the latest he had slept in ages. He could hear all 4 females talking simultaneously and he smiled, imagining this was what life was like when Annie lived with Danielle, in a more innocent time in her life.

"Morning ladies," he said as he approached cautiously.

"Auggie!" all four of them exclaimed.

"A guy could get used to a greeting like that," he laughed.

"Hungry?" Danielle asked from somewhere near the stove.

Auggie just nodded and rubbed sleep from his eyes.

"Auggie are you still taking me to the Library of Congress?" Chloe asked shyly as she finished her French Toast.

"I'm looking forward to it," he sat and wrapped his hand around the mug of coffee Annie had gotten for him.

"Oh good, I told my teacher I was going and she said she would give me extra credit in Social Studies," Chloe explained.

"What about you Katia, are you coming with us or going with your mom and aunt?" Auggie asked after a long sip of coffee.

"Well, Mom and Annie are going shopping and you guys are going to a library. The stores will have lots of interesting things and the library only has books, so I am thinking I'm going with Mom and Annie," Katia declared.

"OK, your loss," Auggie said to Katia, then under his breath to Chloe, "they don't just have books."

The older girl giggled and Katia looked like maybe she made the wrong choice.

***555***

Katia was convinced she had made the wrong decision after the third store in which her mom and aunt bought nothing and asked a ton of boring questions about safety and functionality.

Annie ran her hands over a changing table, white, sleek simple with a couple of drawers and cubbies, a safe lip to keep baby in place. She closed her eyes and ran her hands along the surface, found the drawers with ease.

"May I help you?" a well-dressed woman in her 50's asked.

"I like this," Annie smiled, her hands still running over the surface.

"It is very popular," the woman smiled.

"Did you decide on something?" Danielle approached with an adorable little onesie with turtles on it.

"I think this would be good for Auggie, feel it," Annie encouraged Danielle to close her eyes as she had.

Annie noticed the odd look on the sale woman's face.

"My husband is blind," Annie explained the closed-eye appraisal of the changing table.

The woman's look shifted from odd to sad so quickly and it was almost like she had smacked Annie. The sales woman recovered quickly but it hurt Annie to see someone not happy for them.

***555***

"I'm here to see Evan Lagrange," Auggie said as he and Chloe entered the Library of Congress.

"Auggie!" Even called from across the lobby.

"Evan, hey," Auggie held out his hand and Evan shook it.

"And you must be Chloe," Evan looked at the young girl at Auggie's side.

"This is our niece Chloe," Auggie confirmed.

"Hi," Chloe waved shyly.

"I hear there is some extra credit on the line here," Evan offered Auggie a lead and began making their way across the main lobby.

"Evan here has the keys to some rooms even Congress isn't allowed in," Auggie whispered and Chloe smiled broadly.

"That extra credit is in the bag," Evan held up his hand and Chloe high-fived him.

***555***

Auggie's phone rang, announcing Annie Walker on the other end as he and Chloe finished their ice cream late lunch.

"Hello," he answered.

"Hi there, how are you guys doing?" Annie asked as she reclined on the couch, her feet up and a glass of water in hand.

"We are good, Chloe will be able to teach her Social Studies class after this visit," Auggie confirmed.

"Nice work Uncle Auggie, nice to know your favors extend to the mundane school projects. We just got home and Danielle is going to cook dinner, did you guys eat?"

"We might possibly be having ice cream right now," he said chagrinned.

"Uh huh, I'll keep that tidbit to myself, nothing else though OK?"

"So I should cancel the all-you-can-eat sushi reservation?" he chuckled and missed the disgusted look on Chloe's face.

"I'm glad you guys had fun."

"How about you, any luck?" he asked as he scooped the last of the butter pecan from his dish.

"The baby will not be sleeping in our dresser drawer as I feared," she informed.

"Well that's good. We'll be home soon," Auggie said and hung up.

"Why does your phone still call her Annie Walker?" Chloe asked as she collected their trash and tossed it in the nearby trash can.

"Huh?" Auggie said confused by the question.

"You're married, isn't she Annie Anderson now?"

"Legally, I guess she is, but she will always be Annie Walker to me," Auggie smiled.

***555***

"Have you felt the baby move yet?" Danielle asked on the last morning of her visit.

"Yes, no, I'm not sure," Annie frowned.

"Well, it's still early," Danielle assured.

"I thought I felt something the other night when I couldn't sleep but it might have just been vibration from Auggie snoring," Annie grinned as she caught her husband's reflection in the stainless steel refrigerator.

"I do not snore. You on the other hand have developed an adorable little snuffle," he said finding his wife without trouble and kissing the side of her head.

"You just remember how adorable I am when I start doubling in size," she rubbed the baby that seemed to grow by the minute.

"There's enough love in my heart, and room in our bed, for both of you," he said with a smirk.

"Chloe was moving for weeks before I knew it was her, I thought it was all the tofu tacos I was eating," Danielle laughed.

"Oh god, I had just gotten the taste of those tacos out of my mouth," Annie grimaced and Danielle swatted at her.

"My point," Danielle continued with a stern look, "is that you might not realize it is the baby yet since you've never had a human rolling around in there before."

"A couple times at night I thought I felt something, but I assumed it was the flock of butterflies that have taken up residence right next to the baby," Annie laughed.

"A flutter," Auggie corrected.

"Yeah, like a flutter," she nodded.

"No, a group of butterflies is called a flutter, not a flock," he said as he poured a bowl of cereal.

"You're a nerd," Annie accused but her tone of voice indicated it kind of turned her on.

Auggie just nodded his agreement to her seeming accusation and ate his cereal standing at the counter before heading upstairs to get dressed for work.

TBC…


	4. Chapter 4

Note: I know this whole series is super cheesy, but this installment should come with an appointment at the dentist to check for cavities, it is that sweet….

It was a few weeks later during a workout at Langley that the flutter shifted to a kick. Annie was finishing up with a few modified yoga poses when she felt it and it completely grabbed her attention away from her hoped for Zen state.

"Eeek," she squeaked out just loud enough for Auggie to hear her.

She hated interrupting the really exquisite plank form he was in, but her exclamation had him upright in nanoseconds.

"You OK?" he said his brow furrowed.

"Yeah, just um, feel this," she took his hand.

In general she tried to tell Auggie what she was putting in his hands, it only seemed polite, she cringed at the thought of someone grabbing her hand and then putting a snake in it or something, but she wanted him to be as surprised as her.

She put his hand on the soft cotton of her maternity workout top, stretched across her stomach and slid it to the spot she felt the kick. She took a deep breath as she had before and sure enough.

"Wow," Auggie pulled his hand back at first, in shock, and then quickly found the spot again.

"Weird, right?" she said with a chuckle.

"Amazing," he replied and used his other hand to find her neck, pulling her close and kissing her deeply.

"Mmmmm, don't start that here," she warned but returned for a second kiss.

"As long as I can finish it later," he spoke against her lips.

"Feed me first?" she currently ranked food as her top priority.

"Deal," he agreed after one more kiss.

***555***

"How much sex is too much?" Annie asked Dr. Fuller.

"With your husband? I can't imagine there is a cap on that," she laughed and then blushed. "Sorry, that was inappropriate."

"He's pretty sexy," Annie smiled.

"Yeah, I have nurses rearranging their schedules around your appointments. You disappointed a lot of women today showing up alone," Dr. Fuller laughed.

"Auggie wanted to be here, but something came up at work," Annie smiled and neglected to mention the thing at work was a terrorist with a potential bio-weapon in Mexico City.

"You can play him the heartbeat later," Dr. Fuller handed over the DVD of the ultrasound.

"And to answer your actual question, as much as you are comfortable with. Your exam was fine, the baby is fine. You aren't causing he baby any stress, have all the sex you want as long as it doesn't hurt, trust me there will be weeks or months you don't want it after the baby arrives, even with your husband."

"Maybe that is what I am afraid of, maybe I am afraid I won't ever want sex again after I have the baby. There seems to be this great sense of urgency, every time I see Auggie, to rip all his clothes off."

"And that is different than before you were pregnant?" she asked in all seriousness.

"I guess the desire was always there," Annie remembered feeling it the moment she met Auggie all those years ago, "I could control it better before," Annie admitted.

"I wish all of my patients had this particular problem during pregnancy, this is much more interesting than leg cramps or hemorrhoids," Dr. Fuller laughed. "I assure you there is nothing wrong with you, enjoy the hormones, they can turn on you just as quickly, take advantage of them while they are bringing you joy."

***555***

The terrorist in Mexico City was apprehended around 2:00 am ET and it was close to 4:00 by the time Auggie crawled into bed. Annie was facing his side of the bed so he turned his back to her and scooted back in hopes she would snuggle into him. Just as he was getting comfortable he got a swift sharp tiny little kick. He thought he imagined it, but the second was stronger and actually woke Annie.

"Hey," she said groggily and rubbed her stomach.

"I think the baby is trying to kick me out of bed," he laughed and yawned simultaneously.

"We were taking over the whole bed," she admitted and scooted back a little to give him more room.

He turned to face her and she rearranged herself to fit next to him, the baby kind of propped against his side when it happened again.

"Baby's just saying hi," she smiled against his bare shoulder.

"Or, get out and leave me and my mommy alone," he smirked.

"Well mommy is glad you are here, everything OK?"

"It's over," he assured her.

"Thank God," she sighed knowing how catastrophic a bioweapon in a populous area like Mexico City could be.

"Yeah, it is terrifying to think about all the things in the world that could hurt her," he kissed Annie's forehead and rubbed soothing circles over the baby who had quieted down.

"Do you know something I don't?"

"I know a lot of things you don't, what specifically are you referring to?"

"I love how, completely exhausted, you can still be a smart ass. I mean you keep calling the baby 'her'. Did you call Dr. Fuller and get the gender results?"

"No, I promise I didn't, although I wanted to like 756 times since she said she was fairly certain. I guess I just think of the baby as an extension of you and you're a girl so…."

"I am a girl," Annie confirmed.

"I like that you're a girl," Auggie giggled in her ear.

"You need sleep," she brushed the hair off his forehead, ran here cool fingers across his brow to his temples and moved her thumb gently against the pulse point there willing him to sleep.

"You're going to be a great mommy," he said as he drifted off to sleep.

***555***

A few days later Auggie woke to the smell of coffee, he ran his hand along the edge of the bed and found Annie, sitting there.

"Morning," he smiled.

"Morning," she replied, "I brought you breakfast."

"You did?"

"I did," she leaned down and kissed him good morning before presenting the tray of food and coffee.

"I feel decadent," he grinned.

"It's Sunday," she said vaguely and reached over for a piece of melon from the tray.

"And what is on the agenda for Sunday? More torturous shopping? Are you buttering me up for something?" he looked skeptical.

"Not at all, it is gorgeous out, thought we could take a walk, sit in the park, enjoy the day," she shrugged wondering if he was going to sort it out in his head.

"I'm sensing a trap," he sipped his coffee.

"You are altogether too suspicious, I just want a quiet day with you before we move into the 3rd trimester and things start getting crazy," she reached out and squeezed his thigh under the thin sheet.

"OK," he shrugged and finished breakfast.

Annie walked them all over the neighborhood, finally coming to rest at what sounded to Auggie like a playground, he heard kids and the clank of swings.

"I was afraid you were trying to lose me walking me around in circles like that," he laughed as Annie grabbed the water bottle from his bag.

He felt he temperature difference between his legs in the sun and the rest of his body that he assumed was in the shade. Annie took her sun hat off and folded it into his bag, shaking out her hair he could smell her shampoo. Suddenly a high pitched giggle got closer, the word "butterfly" repeated over and over.

"Justin," a woman hollered gently.

"I've got him," Annie leaned over and scooped the toddler up before he fell headlong into the bench they were on.

"Thank you," the woman appeared quickly, "Justin, Mommy said no chasing the butterflies."

"Pwetty," he gurgled and pointed and sure enough the butterfly had landed on a nearby flowering shrub.

"You'll be chasing one soon, good luck," the mother smiled at Annie and tucked Justin under her arm to inspect he butterfly closer.

"Thanks," Annie smiled and rubbed her bump.

"Good thing you are really good at chasing people," Auggie whispered and Annie laughed.

Just as Annie was getting quite hungry the text she was expecting came through.

"All set. – E"

"I know I fed you a big breakfast, but how about we get sandwiches from Carla's and head home," she stretched and stood, Auggie followed suit, the text chime not being missed.

"Are we on an Op?" he asked quietly.

"No," she chuckled and shook her head, her long hair skittered across his hand.

Sandwiches and cupcakes in hand Annie opened the front door to the condo to see Barber had completed his task as reported. Using her body as a human shield she subtly directed Auggie to the kitchen without bumping into the new furniture. They ate happily and as she licked the last of the lemon icing off her fingers Annie fessed up.

"I have a surprise for you," she said with a grin.

"You don't say?" he smirked.

"Come with me," she offered him her hand.

"Is this a naked kind of surprise?" he slid his hand up her arm and waggled his eyebrows before kissing her.

"No," she said a little short of breath after the kiss, "but it's early, we can probably do both."

"We have a new piece of furniture in the living room," she led him over and placed his hand on the back of the chair.

She watched as he felt his way around it, Barber had left the ottoman far enough away so he wouldn't trip over it. He sat in the chair and Annie could see the tears hanging on his eyelashes.

"Is this?" he turned his head towards her and one of the tears escaped.

"Your father's chair? Yes, your mom wanted you to have it. She finally cleaned out your dad's office and sent it. It arrived last week and has been in storage with the 'Vette. I had Barber move it in today."

"Why today?" he asked and she was surprised he hadn't figured it all out.

She moved over and sat on his lap, kissed his cheek, tasted the salt of his tears.

"Happy Father's Day," she whispered.

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

Annie might have been larger than normal, but she could still be pretty stealth when necessary. She was approaching a conference room when she overheard chatter that caught her attention.

"There is no way she will go back in the field after the baby. The agency lost a good operative," the voice belonged to Duncan McCain.

"Oh I bet she will, she wouldn't give it up," a softer voice replied.

"And risk leaving that kid with one blind parent?" Duncan scoffed.

Annie was instantly boiling mad, she debated storming in the room and tearing Duncan McCain a new one, but she turned on her heel instead to go cool off and walked belly-first into Joan Campbell.

"Annie, you OK?" Joan halted her with a gentle hand to her stomach.

"Duncan McCain is an ass," Annie ground out.

"No argument from me, any particular reason for the observation?"

"No, sorry, I don't need you to fight my battles for me," Annie muttered and maneuvered around the DCS.

Joan moved past Annie with a shake of her head and then she too began to overhear the conversation.

"Annie might as well have resigned when she got pregnant," Duncan continued.

"There are plenty of Operatives who have children," the female voice countered.

"Yes, but they have a spouse that could handle raising the kid alone, usually a mother, if something happens in the field."

"I believe you two have more important things to discuss," Joan entered the room and crossed her arms in her most intimidating stance.

***555***

"I'm going back in the field after I have the baby and you can't stop me," Annie stormed into Tech Ops.

"I'm sorry Admiral, just give me one second," Auggie said into his headset and found the mute button.

"Sorry," Annie sighed, contrite.

"You OK?" Auggie asked calmly.

"Physically, yes," she answered.

"OK, let me finish with Admiral Taylor and then let's go take a walk," Auggie suggested.

"Thank you," she reached out and squeezed his forearm.

Fifteen minutes later Auggie emerged from his office with his cane and a smile on his face.

"Let's go," he encouraged.

They strolled along the walking trails behind Langley and Annie explained the conversation she overheard.

"Annie," Auggie stopped and turned towards her, a couple Operatives jogged past, "we decided it was completely your decision if you return to the field, we discussed it with Danielle and we all agree that you are the best judge of your career. If I don't get to make the decision for you than Duncan McCain certainly doesn't."

"I know, I just hate this kind of bullshit," Annie cursed and then covered her stomach as if covering the baby's ears, "Sorry, Peanut."

"Lots of women deal with this Annie, doesn't matter what the job is, they are judged for working after having a baby. And those people have fully capable spouses," Auggie shrugged.

"I have an exceptionally capable spouse," she assured.

"Not to the casual observer," he smiled. "My own brother wasn't sure I could dress myself, I can only imagine what they are saying about me changing diapers."

"We're having a baby," Annie said it with a mix of awe and dread.

"Yep, and it is a little late to change that. Although we could give the baby to a nice couple on a farm," he teased.

"I told you no more X Files re-runs," she swatted at him and he caught her hand deftly, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head.

"You OK?" he repeated his earlier question.

"Better. You and me against the world?"

"Always," he whispered.

***555***

A couple of weeks later Annie was slaving over a messy handwritten Russian note found at a Moscow laboratory when Joan appeared beside her desk with a garment bag.

"I have an assignment for you," Joan smiled.

"Have I been relegated to dry cleaning runs?" Annie smiled.

"No, I need you to tail a pain in the ass asset at a Kennedy Center Gala tomorrow night. I figured you might not have any maternity formal wear and I only wore this once, it should fit."

"Sure, who's the asset?"

"An Italian playboy, we are pretty much convinced that he is just taking our money and sleeping his way across DC, he hasn't provided any useful intel and we are thinking of cutting him loose," Joan shorthanded and gave Annie the file.

"Are you sending me because you figure he won't try to sleep with a pregnant woman?" Annie arched an eyebrow.

"Got it in one," Joan grinned.

"OK, hope the Kennedy Center still makes those tiny chocolate soufflés," Annie grinned.

"Eat as many as you want," Joan nodded and moved off.

***555***

Auggie heard the door of a car as he dozed on the couch. Sure enough Annie swept in in the evening gown she had departed in earlier.

"Are you waiting up for me?" she asked quietly.

"Not doing a very good job," he yawned and stretched on the couch, he looked delicious. "How'd it go?"

"Fine, the food was good, the asset is a bust. There were dozens of high target people at this thing and he spent the whole night leering at women and even convinced one to join him in a coat room," Annie scoffed.

"You sound annoyed."

"He didn't look at me once," she said sadly.

"Were you hoping he would, thought the point was to be under the radar."

"No one looked at me, men used to look at me," she flopped on the couch.

"Are you looking for a new man?" he asked casually.

"No, of course not, it is nice to be noticed though. You have no idea how women look at you, even when you are with me. There you are holding the arm of a pregnant woman, both of us with wedding rings on and women stare at you."

"Well they assume it is OK since I can't see them," Auggie shrugged.

"I can though," Annie laughed.

"Oh right," Auggie chuckled.

"I just feel less than desirable at the moment, that's all," she said in a small voice.

"Annie…." Auggie began in his 'you're being ridiculous' voice.

"I know, I know. I am glowing and full of life and resplendent," she struggled for euphemisms.

"I realize that confirmations of your physical beauty from a blind guy are a little hollow, but I am an expert on how incredibly desirable you are, all the time," he trailed a single finger up her bare arm and felt the goose bumps form.

"Yeah," her voice was hoarse.

"Yeah," he confirmed by placing her hand quite strategically in his lap.

"Listening to me whine turned you on?" she laughed.

"No, the smell of your shampoo, the heat radiating off your body and the feel of your skin under my fingers turned me on," he kissed her then and was rewarded with a squeak at the back of her throat. "Let's go to bed."

It took some maneuvering, but Auggie managed to push Annie back against the bedroom door and swiveled his body to mold to her new shape perfectly, his lips on hers, his hands clutching at the dress she wore.

"This dress isn't mine, so let's try not to ruin it," Annie didn't think Joan would have need for maternity wear ever again, but she would have a hard time explaining how Auggie ripped it off her body.

"You should probably take it off then," he nearly growled in her ear.

She turned in his arms, and his hands found soft skin along her back and eventually the zipper that held the whole thing together, he released it each tooth of the zipper blissfully loud against their heavy breathing.

Annie held the top of the dress and stepped out of it, gently pushing Auggie away. She hung up the dress and removed the intricate undergarments that went with it, she could hear Auggie undressing as well, but when she turned back he was still wearing his boxers, his arms folded across his gorgeous chest. He kind of looked like a superhero.

"OK, ready now," Annie said, her voice breathy as she rushed to kiss him again.

He kissed her and kissed her and kissed her until he felt the slightest tremble, from cold or desire he was unsure. One last kiss and he stepped around her and turned the blankets down to the end of the bed.

"Lay down," he said gently.

Annie did as she was told, using all the pillows to support her shoulders she sat up a tiny bit, but stretched out on the bed wondering exactly what her husband was intending. He sat at the end of the bed, near her feet with the sweetest smile on his face.

"So, it occurs to me that we never played that fun party game where I tell you what you look like," Auggie laughed.

"Oh yeah, you promised me we'd do that someday."

"Well that day is now, so just relax and let me start here," he picked up one of her feet.

Annie sighed and involuntarily flexed her foot and spread her toes as he ran his thumb along the bottom of it.

"Your feet are small and your toes tortured by those shoes you insist on wearing. This one though is crooked from the time you kicked that Serbian terrorist and broke it and then insisted on running 5 miles instead of waiting for back up. It never healed right, but it is adorable," he finished massaging both her feet.

"I got the intel we needed," she murmured referring to the Serbian terrorist she took out with her kick.

"You did and you ran five miles away from hostile fire on these incredibly strong legs. I know you wish they were longer and you wear those shoes to make them seem that way, but they are so strong and so toned and so smooth right now," he kissed his way along a calf.

"Shaving is almost impossible right now, but I contorted myself for the gown," Annie laughed.

"You have a scar here," he kissed her knee cap," that I don't know the origin of."

His tongue snuck out and traced the ancient scar.

"Kick ball," she started and gasped when his lips moved to the tender skin at the back of her knee.

"Go on," he encouraged as his kisses continued up her thigh.

"I was 8, I kicked the ball and it rolled under my foot and I went flying, destroyed my knee. Shocked that didn't make my file," she sighed as he moved over her body.

"This, this is a mole, yes?" he kissed her hip, right where it folded into her leg.

"Yessss," she sighed, his fingers were somewhere else entirely.

Her hand had found his head, her fingers tangled in his hair, he looked up and she let them fall onto his face, he captured one in his mouth and let his tongue flick against it.

"Auggie…." she rocked her body against his fingers.

"Yes?" he teased.

"I am convinced I am desirable," she declared and tried to coax him to move on with things.

"I'm only half way done," he pouted and she loved it.

"We can do the other half tomorrow," she promised.

TBC…


	6. Chapter 6

Auggie thought the baby was kicking him out of bed again, but as he came to he realized it was Annie kicking him as she tossed and turned. Then he heard her talking.

"Please go to sleep Peanut, mommy needs to sleep," she whispered.

"Annie?" he asked groggily.

"Sorry, sorry Aug, I can't get comfortable," she sighed and flopped on her back.

"Try the other side," and he rolled her the other way, spooning up behind her and rubbing a warm hand along her hip and out over the baby.

It was a little better although on that side the baby was laying on her spleen or something else that hurt.

"You're still calling the baby Peanut? Auggie asked sleepily.

"Yeah," she admitted.

"It is bigger than a peanut now," he smiled remembering the food equivalencies on the development chart.

"Yeah, it feels like a Volkswagen," she cooed to the baby sarcastically.

"Only 2 months left, you'll make it," he kissed the back of her neck under her ponytail.

"We need to think of a name," she said as if she hadn't realized that yet.

Auggie nodded too tired to speak.

"I have very strict rules about the name," Annie mentioned off-handedly.

"You do?" this perked Auggie up a little for 3:00 in the morning.

"Yes," Annie wriggled out of his arms and sat up against the headboard, she turned on the light and opened the nightstand drawer to find her little notebook and pen.

"We're going over them now?" Auggie asked as he readjusted his snuggling to her new position, his head now right up against the baby.

"Number 1," Annie began despite his weak protest, "nothing that begins with A, we have enough A's in our family already, if we name the kid something that begins with A it would be too cutesy."

"That leaves 25 other letters to choose from, that's fine, come back to bed," he tried to seize the notebook, but she was too quick for him in his half-awake state.

"Number 2, nothing that rhymes with or flows into our last name, for example…."

"You have examples?" he raised his eyebrows at her.

"Yes. I love the name Miranda, but Miranda Anderson sounds terrible, it could be one word Miranderson," she said logically.

"Got it," he confirmed.

"Number 3, no odd spellings of normal names."

"Number 4…."

"How many rules are there?" Auggie asked, pained.

"Twelve. No last names for first names, we are not naming the baby Walker unless we want it to grow up to be a Texas Ranger"

"Twelve?" he panicked ignoring rule 4 altogether .

"You have something better to do? This kid is coming in 8 weeks, we need a name!"

"I agree we need some names to choose from, but the baby won't be here before breakfast, so how about we reconvene over cereal and you can do a whole presentation on the rules, then we will each make a list and compare back here tomorrow night, at a civilized hour," he proposed.

"Are you going to negotiate with the baby like this when it is up in the middle of the night?" Annie snarked.

"No, but you are not a baby, you are a rational grown up human being who needs to get some sleep," he looked at her with his best puppy dog face and she smiled at him.

"OK, it is a good plan, I appreciate you not laughing at me," she wiggled back down onto the bed.

"As someone with a less than mainstream name, I realize this is an important parenting moment for us," he conceded.

"Can we switch?" Annie asked as she continued to try and find a comfortable spot.

Auggie climbed over her and she went back to the original side she was on, with him behind her this time like a giant heating pad it was much more comfortable.

"Better?" he asked as he felt her relax against him.

"Much. I love your name by the way, it suits you," she said as she found his hand under her pillow and held it.

"I grew into it," he shrugged and seconds later he was fast asleep.

***555***

Annie and Auggie were struggling to get out the door for work when the doorbell rang. Annie answered it to find a delivery guy and a big box.

"Mrs. Anderson?" he asked and she smiled, she still wasn't used to that being her name.

"Yes," she smiled.

"This is for you Ma'am, can I help you with it?" he offered the pregnant woman.

Annie's first thought was caution, spies don't generally get deliveries at home, but pregnant spies seemed to as Danielle and Auggie's mom kept sending things.

"Thank you," she stepped aside and he wheeled the box in on a dolly.

"It isn't heavy Ma'am, but I'll just put it here," he indicated a space in the foyer.

It would be out of Auggie's way so Annie agreed that was good for now. Annie thanked the young guy and he left.

"Who was that?" Auggie asked as he came down the stairs tying his tie.

"Delivery, more baby stuff I think," Annie bit her nail wanting desperately to look and not wanting to be late for work.

"Go ahead and open it, the DST briefing was pushed to 9:00 today," Auggie grinned.

"Thanks," she scurried over and tore away at the tape with her thumb nail, "Oh," she breathed in sharply.

"What is it?" he asked with curiosity.

"It is all the bedding I wanted, sheets and blankets and a quilt, padding for the side of the crib, it is all of it," Annie dug into the box and found the card.

"Who's it from?" he asked.

"Joan," she said with awe.

"That was sweet," he smiled.

"More than sweet Auggie, I didn't buy this because it was really expensive, but part of me really wanted it so I didn't buy anything else. I never mentioned it to Joan though, how did she know?" Annie puzzled.

"She's a spy honey, she probably tracked our credit card down and interrogated some poor store clerk," he said and Annie looked horrified, "or she asked Danielle," Auggie finished I with the more likely scenario.

"Right," Annie nodded, that was probably it.

"Either way it was thoughtful and generous," Auggie noted.

"It really was," Annie agreed, "we need to put the nursery together."

"You ready for that?" Auggie asked.

Annie had not shied away from preparing for the baby, things had been bought, rooms rearranged, but the final steps of actually assembling the furniture and setting up the nursery had been put off. Whether it was superstition or lack of time Annie wasn't going to posit a guess, but the baby was due in 6 weeks.

"I am," she nodded.

"I'll ask the guys to come this weekend."

***555***

"OK, I will be back in a few hours, don't hesitate to call me though," Annie fretted as she left her husband with Barber, Hollman and a lot of power tools.

"We'll be fine, go and relax and enjoy yourself," Auggie all but rushed her out the door.

"OK…" she hesitated and Barber waved her on.

"Bring back beer?" Auggie asked.

"Pregnant woman buying beer, nice," she snorted.

"We brought beer," Hollman confirmed.

"It is 10:00 am," Annie pointed out.

"Leave woman," Auggie said with a grin.

"OK," she kissed him quickly and fled.

"Finally," Auggie sighed when he heard the door close. "She is on the other side of the door, right?"

"Yeah man, you're good," Barber laughed.

They started with the crib and after 3 hours, lots of swearing and a break for donuts, Barber declared it sort of done.

"I think it's done," he looked at Hollman who shrugged.

"You think?" Auggie asked confused.

"There might be a few extra pieces left over," Barber admitted.

"What kind of pieces?"

"Nuts and bolts and screws and things," Barber dropped them into Auggie's hand.

"Hollman?" Auggie looked a little freaked.

"It seems very sturdy Auggie, they probably just gave extras in case you lost some," Hollman glared at Barber.

"OK, you guys realize a baby is going to sleep in here, it needs to be safe."

"Maybe we could test it," Barber suggested.

"You bring a baby with you?" Auggie smirked.

"No, but how much do babies weigh, 30 or 40 pounds? Surely you have something that weighs that much we could put in there."

"Babies don't weigh 30 or 40 pounds Barber, although yours might," Auggie clapped the big man on the shoulder, "but that is not a horrible idea. Annie has some free weights in the study."

Auggie returned with 2 ten pound free weights. He felt his way along the crib and placed one weight inside to begin.

"Babies weigh about 7 or 8 pounds at birth, so this one weight should be newborn equivalent," he didn't hear anything crashing through to the floor so he added the second weight.

"Twenty pounds and it is sturdy as can be," Hollman assured.

"OK, let's move on to the changing table," Auggie sighed.

Annie got home around 4:00 to find all of the guys on the back deck drinking beer.

"Everyone have all their fingers and toes?" she asked as she deposited a pint of fresh strawberries from the Farmer's Market on the table.

"We do," Auggie nodded.

"And you put the furniture together, right? You didn't just sit out here drinking beer?" she kissed her husband and did a quick sobriety check.

"We did," he smiled and kissed her again.

"Still not used to that," Barber grimaced as he turned towards Hollman.

"It's been a couple years now guys," Annie teased and kissed her husband once more for good measure.

As she pulled away she saw Barber had a mouthful of strawberries and she noticed a wrapped package on the table.

"Is that a present?" she asked despite the obvious.

"It is," Hollman smiled and pushed it towards her and Auggie.

"Guys, helping with the nursery was more than enough," Auggie protested.

"Well it kind of goes with the nursery," Barber shrugged.

"Thank you," Annie smiled genuinely at them and began to tear away the obviously homemade wrapping job. Inside was a nondescript box with a little tape, she peeled that back to reveal some tissue paper and the most adorable mobile she had ever seen.

"It's a mobile for over the crib," She explained to Auggie. "Did you know I was doing ducks?" Annie asked of her chosen nursery theme.

"Auggie mentioned you were a little baby duck crazy," Barber grinned thrilled that she liked it without even knowing the best part. "Press the button"

Soon the soothing sound of Charles Mingus' "The Girl of My Dream" began playing. Auggie's eyebrows arched.

"We hacked the music box and installed an MP3 player with dozens of soothing jazz tracks. Figure if you are up at night you might as well be chill. We put in a timer and a shuffle feature and…"

"They put dots on the controls," Annie smiled and put Auggie's fingers on the buttons.

"Guys, this is incredibly thoughtful, thank you," Auggie shook his head in awe.

"Can we put it on the crib?" she hooked her thumb towards the inside, dying to see the nursery.

"Yeah," Auggie stood and followed her in, with Barber and Hollman close behind.

All 4 trudged up the stairs and Annie was the first to enter the nursery. She didn't say anything at first, which had all three men on edge and then she turned to face them and her eyes were full of tears.

"Ummm Auggie, she's crying," Barber stage whispered and Annie laughed.

"Hormones, she's fine. You're fine, right?" Auggie confirmed.

"Uh huh," she nodded and snuffled.

"So you like it?" Hollman asked just to be sure.

"It's perfect, I love it. Just one question though?"

"Yeah?" All three asked at once.

"Why are my free weights in the crib?

TBC…


	7. Chapter 7

"One month to go, you guys ready?" Dr. Fuller asked as she prepped the ultrasound.

"Getting there," Annie nodded.

"We've got more stuff than we know what to do with," Auggie laughed.

"Babies require a lot of stuff that is true," the doctor agreed.

"How are you feeling Annie?"

"Nervous," Annie said with a frown.

"I meant physically," Dr. Fuller laughed.

"Oh, right. Pretty good actually, considering I am carrying around another person."

"You look great, your vitals are good, let's take a look at the baby," she said as she opened the front closure gown and squirted the always cold gel.

"I should probably tell you now," Annie turned to Auggie, "that our baby looks like an alien."

"Have you been watching the X Files without me?" he grinned.

"All babies look a little alien on these old school monitors, the new 3D ultrasounds look more human, but I admit, kind of creepy. Your baby looks great. Movement has been consistent?"

"Yes," Annie nodded.

"Our first lesson is going to be on sharing, this baby does not seem to like me sleeping in my own bed," Auggie joked.

"Baby is just checking you out, what is this big heat source?" the doctor smiled.

"I'll be happy to have the bed back."

"I'll be happy to have my body back," Annie countered.

"Fair point," Auggie conceded and kissed her knuckles.

"Well, you should consider having a bag ready, a plan for the hospital. I don't recommend women in labor driving if avoidable, so is there a plan?" Dr. Fuller had had very few concerns about Auggie as a blind dad, but he definitely should not be driving.

"We have a lot of friends hovering and our next door neighbor is on standby for middle of the night," Annie confirmed.

"He's a cop and real good at getting up quickly," Auggie added.

"Excellent," Dr. Fuller printed a few screen shots from the ultrasound and handed Annie some paper towels to clean up the gel.

"We're ready," Annie laced her fingers through Auggie's and put on her bravest smile.

***555***

"Auggie!" Annie called loudly but not urgently enough to send him running for the go bag.

"Yep," he jogged up the stairs.

"I need your help," she said frustrated.

"Stuck in your bra again?" he smirked.

He was remembering a night last week that Annie was so tangled in her clothes she couldn't get them off, so he helped. It ended with frantic sex on the floor that left minor carpet burns on his backside, but was well worth the pain.

"No, I dropped an earring," she said and he looked confused.

"I can't bend over and fit in the space to get it," she confessed.

"Ahhh, where is it?"

"Right by the left front foot of the dresser," she instructed.

"It's one of the diamond studs my grandparents gave me for my 16th birthday," she said nervously.

"Of course it is," he groaned as he felt his way to the proper side of the dresser and kneeled down.

"To the right," she guided him.

His big index finger hit the diamond and tiddly-winked it further under the dresser. He tried not to sound too frustrated as he stretched and reached further.

"Am I close?" he asked when he realized Annie hadn't said anything.

"Huh, sorry," Annie snapped back to attention.

"Are you staring at my ass?" he asked with mock indignation and looked back over his shoulder.

"I might be," she admitted.

***555***

"You coming to bed?" Auggie asked a couple nights later after Annie was sequestered in the bathroom for an unusually long amount of time banging arund.

"Yep, be right there," she replied in a normal tone that indicated she was not in any sort of peril.

Auggie moved over to Annie's side of the bed, leaving her the space she needed to sleep in the only position that seemed to be OK with the baby. He heard the click of the light switch from the bathroom and the soft foot falls of his wife, the bed dipped a little more than it used to when she got into it and he felt her wiggle herself into her spot. His hands reached out for her and found nothing but bare skin.

"Are you naked?" he asked with glee.

"It is official, even my pajamas don't fit, everything felt too tight, so I took it all off," she reported.

"No complaints here," he kissed a line across her shoulders. "How are you feeling?" he slid a hand along her thigh.

"Better by the minute," she purred.

"Yeah?" he encouraged, but didn't want to push.

"You're not naked," she accused as she reached back to pull him closer and came into contact with the soft cotton of his boxers.

"I can remedy that," he said eagerly and she just nodded and giggled.

Annie liked to watch. Part of it was her nature, as a spy she observed every facet of human interaction, and that carried over to intimate moments with her husband. In addition she felt much less conspicuous watching Auggie since he really didn't know if her eyes were open or closed most of the time. There was a freedom, in bed with Auggie, to observe without being observed that was incredibly thrilling for Annie. She also felt a certain responsibility to be the eyes for both of them in bed in a way she rarely felt elsewhere, not wanting Auggie to miss any part of the experience.

Her current shape made the logistics of sex hard, so despite her near constant desire to watch she closes her eyes now, her back to her husband. She knows Auggie's body, knows his hands and how he uses them on her so well, but with her eyes closed she begins to anticipate in a different way.

She gasps when he uses just one finger on her, trails it down her spine before placing the flat of his hand against her ass. He slides the hand up over her thigh, under the baby to tease her, the stretch forcing him to embrace her , his lips lock on her shoulder.

"Oh god," she sighs as he presses up against her.

"We got here fast," when he discovers how ready she is.

"Mmmmm, I need to…." She trails off and covers his hand with her own, encouraging him faster.

He understands what she wants and is happy to oblige, her breath is quick and he can hear his own heart rate increase in his ears. He has to react quickly as her neck snaps back to prevent their skulls from cracking against one another as she shouts his name.

"Mmhmm, god," she relaxes against him.

"You OK?" he smiles against her neck.

"So good," she sighs, her eyes still closed.

She guides his hand to her leg and shifts it to hook back over his, an invitation.

"You sure?" he double checks, not wanting to push her.

"Please," she whispers.

He is achingly gentle with her despite his own building desire. Her body is sensitive to every movement and he is mesmerized by her sounds, the room around them still. Her initial want quenched she loves this gentle pace, her hand finds his on her hip and she locks their fingers together, runs her thumb along his.

"I love you, Annie," it sounds like a prayer and her breath hitches.

"Auggie," she opens her eyes, can't miss this moment, and turns her neck back to see the love on his face, kisses him deeply.

When the kiss ends Auggie moves a little more solidly against her.

"Can I?" he asks for permission.

"Of course," she encouraged him to go faster.

He hums at the back of his throat as he bites at her neck. The sensation of his teeth and tongue against the delicate skin there and the vibration from his hum travels straight through her bringing her right along with him.

"Jesus," she pants as they finish, his mouth still moving against her skin.

"That was fun" he laughs.

***555***

Annie scurried into the ladies room for what seemed like the 100th time that day as the clock approached 6:00 pm on a Friday. She waved a greeting to Millie who appeared to be primping for a date, but the need to pee outweighed Annie's curiosity. Millie could hear the audible sigh of relief and smiled.

"You OK?" Millie asked.

"Yes," Annie answered followed by the flush of the toilet.

"I thought that briefing was going a little long," Millie continued applying thicker than normal make-up.

"You going out?" Annie asked.

"Date, first date," Millie grimaced.

"You look amazing," Annie encouraged as she assessed the woman in her wrap dress that fit her gorgeous body perfectly.

Annie then looked at her own reflection, her boring maternity clothes with, was that mustard on the front? She picked at the crusted condiment with a ragged nail.

"Thanks. When do you go on maternity leave?" Millie asked conversationally as Annie washed her hands and tried to do something with her hair.

"I am officially due in 3 weeks, but I keep thinking this kid might be early," she rested her hand over the baby.

"It is Auggie's kid so, likely," Millie nodded.

"Joan has me on day-to-day so I will be here until I either feel like crap or go into labor," Annie nodded.

A knock on the women's room door meant only one thing, Annie looked around to make sure no one else was in there before she said, "Come in Auggie."

"You OK? Heard you run in and you never came out," he said a little concern in his voice.

"Fine, just talking to Millie. She has a date," Annie shared.

"Lucky guy," Auggie smiled and Annie saw Millie duck her head at the compliment.

"Thanks, you guys have a good weekend. Annie hope I see you Monday," Millie packed up her make up bag and left.

"You ready to go?" he asked and she considered for a minute if she needed to pee again.

"Yeah," she decided she could make it home.

"Wanna go on a date?" he asked noticing the slight envy in Annie's voice when discussing Millie.

"I have mustard on my shirt," was the confusing answer.

"Hanging out in the ladies room with you reminds me of the old days," he changed the trajectory of the conversation.

"Auggie," Annie turned to face him, pulled him close and wrapped him around her body as best as she could, "I'm ready to have this baby."

"That's good, but not right this second right?" he clarified.

"No, right this second, I have to pee."

TBC…


	8. Chapter 8

Notes: Thank you all so much for the reviews, glad people are enjoying this!

Annie sat down with the pint of ice cream and a pile of magazines, enjoying a girls night in. Auggie was in Baltimore in a gray panel van for the night, but Barber was on speed dial if anything happened with the baby.

As she scooped the last bit of ice cream from the carton there was a knock at the door, she looked at the clock, it was almost 11:00 pm.

"Who is it?" she asked as she waddled to the door.

"It's me," Joan Campbell answered and Annie instantly panicked.

"What's wrong?" Annie asked as she flung the door open.

The look on Joan's face reminded her of her current attire. She had a pair of Auggie's pajama pants on under her belly and a faded tee shirt from a diner in South Carolina called Annie's that didn't quite cover her belly either. She had ditched the bathrobe earlier as her body seemed to be a human furnace lately.

"Sorry, come in," Annie stepped aside and Joan entered.

"Do you want the bad news or the good news?" Joan asked as she moved towards the couch and sank down tiredly.

"Usually people lead with the good news," Annie relaxed knowing Joan would be more concerned if something were really terrible.

"Auggie is OK."

"But?"

"He's in quarantine at Walter Reed."

"What!" Annie screeched.

"He is going to be fine," Joan reiterated.

"Start at the beginning, he was monitoring an operative on a meet in Baltimore, how did he wind up in quarantine?"

"The operative was meeting a Turkish national, that is part of why I sent Auggie he could do real time translation for us. The meet went south and Auggie went in to get the operative out…."

"He did what?" Annie was utilizing her Lamaze breathing to calm herself down.

"The hostile had fled, the Operative broke his leg in the fight. We had a team enroute, but Auggie wanted to drag him out in case hostiles returned. The team showed up and in the sweep discovered a cracked vial of weapons grade Anthrax, the room was tented and everyone sent to Walter Reed. He has been vaccinated and shows no signs of reaction," Joan spoke slowly and clearly.

"OK," Annie nodded.

"You aren't actually in labor are you?" Joan asked as she observed the systematic breathing.

"No, but this breathing thing really works," Annie smiled.

"He asks that you not have the baby in the next 72 hours," Joan smiled.

"I'm pretty sure I don't have control over that, but I will do my best. I don't suppose I can see him?"

"We can probably get you a video feed tomorrow, but no I am not bringing you to the infectious disease and biological contagion unit of Walter Reed," Joan grinned.

"Right," Annie nodded and rubbed a hand over the baby as if she had forgotten.

"You OK for tonight?" Joan asked.

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting Auggie anyway. Barber and the neighbor are on speed dial," she nodded.

"OK," Joan smiled and left.

***555***

"I'm going crazy in here," Auggie said 2 days later via a secure video feed.

"I miss you," Annie said quietly.

"How are you feeling?"

"I should be asking you that," she laughed.

"I'm fine, if nothing else I was a good guinea pig for the vaccine. I'm more concerned about you, you look tired."

"I feel kind of squicky," she frowned.

"I don't know what squicky means," Auggie asked, confused.

"Just kind of not right, off a little."

"Did you call the doctor?"

"I did, she said it was normal and that I should be prepared for labor. I explained I had been prepared for labor for months now," Annie grinned.

"You are very prepared. Try to hang on one more day," Auggie grinned.

"I'm not doing this alone, or God forbid, with Barber, so I will cross my legs if I have to. We're waiting for you."

***555***

Auggie was released the next day at 2:00 pm and a military transport brought him to Langley directly for debrief. Annie saw her husband enter the building and knew he was going to be sequestered until long after dinner so she moved as quickly as she could to intercept him.

"Can I see my wife please?" she heard him ask the suit who was escorting him to Joan's office.

"Your wife can see you," she replied and nodded at the other agent who stepped aside.

Auggie's face bloomed into a wide grin. Annie grabbed his face right in the middle of the DPD and kissed him soundly.

"You OK?" she asked as she pulled back.

"I'm fine. You two?" he asked with a warm hand on her belly.

"Still sharing one bod…oooof," Annie doubled over in pain.

"Annie?"

"Damn that hurt," she seethed out a breath and held off the half a dozen people that flocked to her side.

"Was it a contraction?" Auggie reached for her hand.

"Maybe?" she straightened up.

"What did it feel like?"

"It hurt," she summarized.

"I gathered that," Auggie rolled his eyes. "Did your water break?"

"Not yet," she assured.

"OK, I am going to go to debrief quickly, yell if you need me or if that happens again," he kissed her again and noticed her hand in his shook slightly.

She nodded.

"Are you nodding?" he asked gently.

"Sorry, yes, I will yell if I need you," she squeezed his hand and let him go.

She noticed lots of eyes on her.

"I'm OK," she said to the crowd, not entirely convincing.

She made it back to her desk before she felt the water.

"Maybe not OK," she whimpered as she leaned against the desk.

"I'll get Auggie," Barber appeared out of nowhere," or should I help you? Or do I get the car? Your bag? Some towels?" Barber was slightly frantic.

"Get Auggie first," Annie breathed slowly.

"OK," Barber nodded and headed in the wrong direction.

Annie looked up to call after him and a young guy who had seen Auggie go to Joan's office offered to get him. A few moments later she saw Auggie and Joan approach from above.

"Joan?"

"I'll drive," she explained with her keys in hand.

"That's OK," Annie demurred.

"Well you can't and he can't, so I will," Joan rationalized.

Annie felt another contraction, they weren't terribly far apart, certainly not far enough apart to argue about protocol with your boss. She just nodded and brushed her hand along Auggie, she would lead him, but she kind of needed him to help hold her up too.

An orderly with a wheelchair met the car after Joan called ahead and with the pre-registration they had done with Dr. Fuller Annie was in a room in record time for any emergency room visit.

"Dr. Fuller will be here in a little while, we have an attending who will examine you first Mrs. Anderson," a nurse explained.

"OK," Annie nodded.

"Send text, Danielle Brooks," Annie heard Auggie texting Danielle the latest and just laid back to relax for a minute.

Quickly Auggie's phone chimed a reply and he played it for both of them to hear.

"Text from Danielle Brooks. So excited, keep me posted, give Annie a kiss for me. End Text."

"You heard her," Auggie approached the bed, ran his hand along the side, found enough room to perch carefully and then found Annie's hand, he pulled it to his lips and kissed it softly, followed the line of it up to her neck and nuzzled her there before moving his stubbled jaw against her smooth one and capturing her lips. Her hands found his hair as she slanted her mouth against his, kissed him deeper.

She wanted to tease him for following Danielle's orders so closely, but she really just wanted to kiss him.

***555***

"This hurts worse than getting shot," Annie whispered as she collapsed from another contraction.

"Well it is a completely different kind of pain, gunshots are acute and…." Auggie rambled.

"Auggie?" she turned her head towards him.

"Shut up?" he winced.

"Just agree with me," she smiled, "And come back over here."

"You won't hit me again?"

"I can't promise that," she laughed.

"Who wants to have a baby?" Dr. Fuller swept in gloved and gowned.

Annie raised her hand.

"Good answer," Dr. Fuller smiled and took her seat at the foot of the bed.

***555***

At 7:00 pm PT Danielle got a new text from Auggie.

"Heading to the delivery room, next text will be a pic. Auggie."

TBC…


	9. Chapter 9

Note: I hope no one wanted a bloody gory birthing scene, cause, well, no. Also, ewww.

***555***

"Your mommy thinks we think she's asleep, but I know she is watching us," Auggie said the next morning.

He could feel the sun streaming in the window so he knew the time had lapsed into morning.

"Have you two been sitting there all night?" Annie asked her voice raw from the strain of the night before.

Once they went to labor and delivery things progressed nicely and Annie, Auggie and baby had been back in the room for several hours now.

"Possibly," Auggie admitted.

"You must be exhausted," Annie yawned.

"I feel like I could run a marathon," Auggie said seriously.

"Not me, I can barely keep my eyes open, but the baby likely needs to eat," Annie said with a grin.

"Yes, and daddy needs to pee, so here you go," he stood carefully and felt for the edge of the bed with his knee, he bent forward then and Annie took the baby from him.

She settled the baby in the crook of her arm and caught his chin with her free hand bringing him close and kissing him softly. Auggie returned the kiss before heading to the private bathroom in the corner of the room. Throughout the night he and the baby had done laps around the room, so he knew the layout perfectly.

"Did dad finally crash?" a nurse appeared to check on both Annie and the baby.

"He's in the bathroom, he was up all night," Annie grinned.

"I offered to take the baby to the nursery, but they seemed very content to hang out together," the nurse jotted a few things on Annie's chart.

"Bonding," Annie nodded. "Speaking of…." She trailed off.

"Need some nursing help?" the young woman asked with a smile.

"It seems like it should be the most natural thing in the world," Annie admitted.

"Lots of first time moms need some guidance, we have a lactation specialist on the floor, I will send her right over," the nurse peeked at the baby and almost bumped into Auggie coming out of the rest room.

"Sorry," she danced around him, her reflexes sharper than his.

"I thought you might have fallen asleep in there," Annie chuckled.

"I'm good," he found his way back to the bed and perched on the edge. "How are you?"

"Tired. Sore," she inventoried.

"I can't imagine why," he teased.

The lactation specialist arrived and Auggie snuck out for some food, leaving mommy and baby to do their own bonding.

***555***

When Auggie returned he heard two distinctly different sleeping sounds, the tiny snore his wife develops when sleeping on her back and the barely perceptible snuffle of the baby, a sound he had memorized throughout the night.

He approached carefully and encountered the plastic bassinette, his hand finding the soft blanket covering his child and sliding to the warm stomach that rose steadily under his touch. He found the tray for Annie's bed and deposited a bag of breakfast offerings to supplement whatever she was served from food service.

Then he found his chair and sat heavily, tired, joyous, but also sad. In the quiet of the room exhaustion settled over him. Without any warning his eyes flooded with tears, he swiped at them, angry at his reaction. The more he tried to control his emotions the more he felt them, crushing him, drowning him. Before his heaving sobs woke either of the sleeping people in the room he stood, legs shaky and made his way out of the room and walked right into Joan Campbell.

"Auggie, my god, what's wrong?" the woman said instantly alarmed after receiving word all was fine.

Auggie needed the wall for support, sank back against it.

"Auggie?" Joan was approaching hysterical.

"I'm never going to see my daughter."

"Oh Auggie," Joan gasped, brought her hand to her mouth and squeezed closed her eyes at the raw emotion in the admission he just made.

"Sorry," he rallied quickly, pushed himself back up to standing, scrubbed a hand over his face.

"Come here," she brushed his hand and he took her arm let her lead him to a quiet waiting area.

"I'm just tired," he shrugged off her concern.

"I know and you are also completely overwhelmed by the arrival of this little girl, I remember how I felt when my son was born, it is a fine line between joy and terror," she ran her hand back and forth over his denim clad knee, like she was soothing her own son.

"I held her all night, I love her so much, already, how is that possible?"

"You may have held her for the first time last night, but you have been in love with her for many months now, the idea of her anyway," Joan said softly.

"Yeah," Auggie agreed and sat quietly for several minutes trying to reign in his emotions.

"It's funny," he continued, "there have been plenty of times I wished desperately I could see Annie, but it has never felt like this."

"She's just so new, you don't need to see Annie to know Annie and love Annie, but the baby is new she will quickly be as complete in your mind and your heart as Annie is. You will know her sounds and her smell, the good ones and the bad ones, and you will begin to interact with her, she will get to know you. You are going to be such a good father Auggie."

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Oh yeah. How about you introduce me to your daughter?"

"OK, how bad do I look?"

"You look like an exhausted new father, better get used to it," Joan assured him.

Auggie laughed and stood, allowing Joan to lead him back to the room she was heading to when she ran into him. Auggie pushed the door open and listened, Annie was already awake again and talking to the baby.

"And you have a whole bunch of uncles…" she looked up at the open door.

"You OK for a visitor?" he asked.

"Sure," she agreed and smiled as Joan followed Auggie into the room.

"I was just going over the family tree," Annie laughed.

"We need to get word to all the branches," Auggie realized he had really only been communicating with Danielle and his mom, although his mom was good for getting the word out.

Joan just stood there listening to their banter, the same banter she had heard between them for years, the ease and comfort they always had that led them here.

"I'm so happy for you guys," she said honestly.

"Would you like to hold her?" Annie asked, willing to hand off the infant.

"Absolutely," Joan placed her purse and the small gift she had with her on a chair and quickly washed her hands in the bathroom before taking the pile of blankets with little baby Anderson in them.

"Joan, we'd like you to meet Grace," Auggie said as Annie handed the baby off to Joan.

"Wow," was all Joan could manage.

***555***

"Dude, she is super chill," Barber remarked as he watched the baby in the bassinette.

"Apparently being born is really stressful, babies are generally pretty chill for the first 24 hours unless they are in distress," Auggie mentioned as he ran his fingers through Annie's hair as she dozed against him on the bed.

"I can't believe you guys have a kid," he smirked and shook his head.

"It is very surreal," Auggie agreed.

"That person came out of Annie, it is weird, right?"

"Less weird than it moving around inside her like some sort of horror movie," Auggie admitted.

"Did she curse at you and tell you she was never having sex with you again?" Barber asked intrigued.

"She hit me a couple times at first, but she needed all her energy at the end," Auggie kissed his wife's head.

"A little girl, wow, you ready for that?"

"I figure I have 10 years before I have to worry too much about her gender," Auggie shrugged.

"You gonna have more?"

"I thought we would take this one home first," Auggie laughed.

"Right," Barber nodded.

"Joan took me off the roster for a week, luckily that little trip to quarantine freed me up, so the fort should be pretty easy to hold down," Auggie said with a yawn.

"We got ya covered boss, enjoy your girls. I'll be back tomorrow to bring you all home," Barber patted him on the shoulder and headed out.

Auggie pulled his feet up on the bed and tried to get comfortable without jostling Annie. She mumbled in her sleep and snuggled deeper into his chest.

***555***

The next day the Anderson family, expanded to 3, arrived home. Barber hovered, unsure if he should offer help or leave them in peace.

"We'll be fine Eric, thank you," Annie assured.

As the door closed behind him Annie looked at her husband standing over the baby carrier on the kitchen island.

"You two seem tight," she mentioned.

"Eric? He's good people," Auggie grinned.

"I meant you and Grace," Annie laughed.

"Oh, yeah, we're already conspiring against you," he admitted freely.

"Really?" Annie gingerly walked across the room and wormed her way under Auggie's arm.

"Yep, we're planning to put you to bed and then stay up all night exploring he house. Grace has a lot to learn."

"She's not quite 72 hours old Auggie, all she needs to know is where the milk is," Annie turned her head and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"And that is your department, my department is adventures and discovery," Auggie clarified.

"I think I get the short end of that stick," Annie pouted.

"You can join our adventures after you have rested and recovered," Auggie promised.

"Well that's good. What's this?" Annie asked.

"You'll have to be more specific," Auggie smirked.

"Right, sorry. There is a present on the counter," Annie reached for the small box.

"Oh that," Auggie nodded.

"Yeah, that."

"It's for you."

"Really."

"From me," he shrugged.

"You bought me a present?"

"We got a lot of gifts for the baby, but I thought you deserved a little something for you," he fussed with the blankets in carrier, shy.

"I got a little something in this deal," she giggled and wrapped her fingers around a blanket covered foot.

"But you see, we both got a baby and only you had to throw up every day for months," he dismissed her argument.

"Can I open it?"

"Of course," he replied as she led him to the couch, leaving the sleeping baby on the counter.

Annie tore away the pale blue paper to reveal a robin's egg blue box.

"This is from Tiffany's," she pointed out.

"That's good since that is where I went to get it," he leaned his chin on her shoulder and kissed her temple.

"You got me something from Tiffany's?"

"No, I just stopped and picked up a box. Yes, I got you something from Tiffany's. I gave you my grandmother's engagement ring, so I owed you something new," he rationed.

As she opened the box the air left her lungs.

"Auggie," it was an exhalation.

"Do you like it?"

"It's, oh my god Auggie, it is so beautiful," he could hear tears in her voice.

"It can't possibly compare to you," he brushed off the compliment.

"It's," Annie ran her index finger over the teardrop pendant on the platinum chain.

The stone in the middle was a gorgeous shade of blue and it was surrounded by tiny perfectly cut diamonds to refract and reflect just like….

"It looks like the ocean," she realized.

"You told me once, while we were lounging in the hammock with Hank that if anyone ever asked you what your favorite color was you were going to say the ocean in Niue at midday with the sun right overhead."

"I love you so much," she kissed him now as she had kissed him then, like all the beauty in the world was theirs.

TBC…


	10. Chapter 10

Six weeks after Grace's arrival she was set to be visited by a very eager aunt and grandmother. Annie and Auggie debated having them visit separately or at the same time, but Annie figured it was good for them to meet one another and if she was going to have to clean the house she might as well get 2 relatives worth of visits out of it.

Both women agreed that they would stay in a hotel as an infant wrought enough chaos on things. Annie still went into cleaning frenzy mode, her energy coming back and her days alone with the baby a little dull.

"It sure smells clean," Auggie declared Thursday night.

"I don't think it has been this clean since we moved in," Annie admitted.

"I hope you aren't overdoing it," he said cautiously.

"I'm used to 18 hour days and getting shot at, so far motherhood is not worse than that," she teased.

"Your body has been through a lot, remember when you recovered after you were shot, you pushed too fast," Auggie pulled her closer on the couch.

"I cleaned the house Auggie, I didn't do a triathlon," she reassured him with a kiss.

"You excited to see Danielle?" he changed course.

"I am," she said it but didn't sound convinced.

"What's wrong?"

"Can I tell you something and you won't laugh?"

"Sure," he promised.

"I'm nervous."

"About Danielle?"

"And your mom."

"Why?" he asked.

"Collectively they have raised 7 children, what if I do something wrong? What if Gracie is fussy or I hold her funny or something…." Annie worried at a finger nail.

"Is this why the house is so clean I could build computer chips in here?"

"I want to make a good impression," she shrugged.

Auggie didn't say anything, he looked at her thoughtfully and she could see the wheels moving in his head. This was one of the many things she loved about Auggie, he wasn't quick with platitudes, he actually thought about things before he said them.

"It occurs to me that I have no idea if we are doing this right," he said, his face pained.

"It's not like we have a lot of friends with kids," Annie agreed.

"Nothing to compare to, Joan seems as unflappable as ever, but we have no idea what she does at home with a kid," Auggie reasoned.

"What if we are doing it all wrong?" Annie was worried now.

"But the baby is fine, hitting all her marks with the pediatrician, seemingly content. Her needs are pretty minimal," Auggie said logically.

"And maybe by the time she starts to notice us we'll have figured it all out?"

"Guess she isn't the only one developing," Auggie smiled and kissed her.

***555***

Danielle arrived at the condo at 10:00 am having survived the red eye for a couple extra hours with her niece. Auggie was at work and Joyce not scheduled to land until 4:00, so it left Annie and Danielle almost a full day together.

"She's so cute," Danielle gushed as she instantly scooped Grace out of her carrier.

"I think so, but I might be a little biased," Annie grinned and poured Danielle some coffee.

"I might have to fight Auggie's mother for snuggling time," Danielle cuddled the baby closer.

"You both might have to fight Auggie, he gets home from work and that kid is in the Moby before I have time to kiss him."

"The Moby?" Danielle asked.

"It's like a baby Bjorn, but more swaddling than carrier, he looks ridiculous in it, but he can carry the baby around and have both his hands free," Annie explained.

"I can't wait to see it," Danielle laughed and accepted the coffee graciously.

***555***

Annie scrolled through her email on her phone as she waited for Auggie's mom at baggage claim. She had arrived a little early and got a seat and an iced tea and was just happy to be out of the house for a while, Danielle staying with the baby. She was still going through the transition of not working, certainly she had gone through periods like this before during her CIA career, but never quite like this.

Just as she was getting bored, people began flooding the baggage claim area and she started paying attention. She waved to Auggie's mom who only had a carry on with her for the 3 day visit.

"Annie," the older woman smiled and hugged her.

"Hello Joyce, welcome," Annie hugged back.

"I could have taken a cab," Joyce insisted.

"Are you kidding, I was thrilled to get out of the house."

"Where is the baby?" Joyce asked suddenly.

"I put her in a drawer, she'll be fine until we get back," Annie grinned and Joyce assumed she was joking.

"My sister is with her," Annie confirmed.

"Ah," Joyce knew Danielle was coming but didn't know her travel schedule.

"Let's get you home to meet your newest granddaughter," Annie insisted on rolling the small suitcase and the two headed to the car.

As expected Joyce and Danielle got along quite well and really just fussed over the baby. Danielle had started dinner, at her insistence, and the house couldn't be cleaner.

"So, this is going to sound awful, but would you two mind watching her while I took a bath? I usually sneak in when Auggie gets home, but I try to be quick…" she trailed off.

"I remember not bathing for 4 days while Michael was on a business trip after Katia was born, take all the time you need. Dinner will be ready at 7:00 when Auggie said he would be home" Danielle ushered her towards the stairs.

"Thanks," Annie hugged her sister and jogged up the stairs before Grace could start to fuss.

Annie took full advantage of the female relatives downstairs and used every minute of the time she had before Auggie got home. She took a long relaxing bath, not just a get clean quick shower, but an actual relaxing bath. She shaved her legs and smoothed the very expensive honeysuckle lotion Danielle had sent her for her birthday all over her body. She blew dry her hair which had been in some form of ponytail or bun for the past 6 weeks and actually tried on some clothes that were not made primarily of spandex. She fastened the necklace that Auggie had given her when Grace was born but had absolutely no excuse to wear yet around her neck.

The end result walked down the stars a few minutes before 7:00 like a new woman.

Joyce was chatting to an amused Grace and Danielle was stirring something that smelled delicious.

"I might not let you two leave," Annie laughed and got their attention.

"Um, Annie, can I see you for a second?" Danielle asked wide-eyed and dragged her little sister into the half bath off the living room.

"What's wrong?" Annie's hand flew to her hair and she examined her shirt for spit up stains.

"Anne Catherine Walker Anderson, you are planning to seduce your husband," Danielle accused.

"I am," Annie decided denial was wasted on the one person who knew her like Danielle did.

"Should I pack dinner to go for Joyce and I?" Danielle hooked her thumb towards the kitchen.

"Har har, I think I can control myself until you guys are out of the driveway," Annie crossed her arms.

"Oh my god, is that the necklace Auggie gave you," Danielle became distracted by the shiny thing hanging from Annie's neck.

"Yes, isn't it unbelievable?"

"It is unbelievable," Danielle nodded.

"And I have not been up for properly thanking him for it until now," Annie smirked.

"So you haven't…?"

"In over 2 months," Annie sagged back against the sink.

"Oh you poor thing, how ever are you surviving…." Danielle said sarcastically.

"Seriously, every night for the past couple weeks I have wanted nothing more than him, but I was soooooo tired, I was afraid I'd fall asleep in the middle," a chuckle bubbled up.

"Annie?" Auggie knocked on the door and both women's eyes popped as if they had been caught doing something wrong.

"Oh my god, dinner!" Danielle shrieked and flew past Auggie with a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hi," Annie greeted her husband.

"You guys OK?" he asked with an arched brow.

"Yeah, sorry, just girl talk. I hope your mother didn't think we were being rude," she tried to look around him.

"She's fine, she barely acknowledged me, she is completely entranced with the baby," Auggie laughed.

"Want me to acknowledge you?" she asked and ran her hands up the front of his shirt, along the strong column of his neck and into his hair, tugging him gently towards her and capturing his lips as she kicked the door closed behind him.

"Yes, please," he said between kisses, his hands slipping under the back of her shirt.

Auggie shifted them back so he was leaning against the now closed door. Annie's lips moved to his neck, the scent of aftershave just barely there mixed with the always present scent of Auggie and it drove Annie crazy, her tongue darting out to the spot at the base of his neck, the slight indent that always tasted slightly salty, she licked him and moaned at the same time.

"Does this door lock?" he asked fumbling for the knob.

"Yes," Annie said in a haze and heard the snitch as he pressed the button.

Annie pressed her body fully against his, her hands tugged at his shirt, freeing it from his pants.

"Dinner in 10 minutes…." Danielle called from the kitchen and they both froze, their lips still joined.

"Oh my God," Annie took a deep breath and stepped back, smoothing her hair back into the perfect blow out she had achieved.

"Sorry," Auggie said as he crossed his arms, still reclined against the door looking anything but sorry.

"I promise we will finish that later," she moved him from the door so she could open it, he stepped around her deeper into the small bathroom. "You coming?"

"I just need a minute," he grinned, tucking his shirt back into his pants.

"Right, I'll be out here," she indicated.

"Probably a good idea," he shooed her out and leaned over the sink trying to quell the desire coursing through him

"Auggie'll be right out," Annie said loudly and at a higher pitch than normal and then cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Uh huh," Danielle nodded.

Joyce was oblivious to all of it, completely enraptured by the baby.

"She's pretty sweet," Annie noted as she sat beside her mother-in-law.

"Oh Annie, she is just darling. I've seen a lot of babies and this one is something else."

"You might be a little biased Mom," Auggie appeared.

"Of course I am, this is my baby's baby," she smiled.

***555***

"Danielle, this is delicious," Joyce said sincerely.

"Thank you, it is one of Annie's favorites," Danielle added with a smile to her sister.

"I appreciate the combination of delicious and healthy. My post-baby diet has consisted mostly of boring boring and boring," Annie laughed.

"Well I did make you lemon mousse," Danielle confessed.

"When did you have time to do that?" Annie gaped.

"While you were getting Joyce, it's chilling," Danielle said as if everyone could just whip this stuff up.

"You are my favorite sister," Annie said in all seriousness.

"So Mom, where do you want to go on your visit. I am even willing to venture into tourist hell for you, you name it," Auggie encouraged.

"Auggie is a very good tour guide, I highly recommend his service," Danielle grinned.

"I am even better without 30 third graders climbing me," Auggie replied and Joyce looked on curiously.

"I loved you so much that day," Annie admitted and Auggie grinned.

TBC…. You are going to get a bonus Ch 11 for this Part


	11. Chapter 11

Annie insisted that Danielle and Auggie relax after dinner, she would have insisted the same about Joyce, but her mother-in-law was already clearing the table. Danielle wanted to give Grace a bath, so they headed upstairs.

"Thank you for inviting me Annie, I know how hectic it is with a newborn," Joyce said as she rinsed the dishes and loaded the dishwasher.

"Oh Joyce, we're happy to have you. We hope you feel welcome to visit any time," Annie said realizing sometimes she might be fighting bad guys on foreign soil.

"I could count on one hand the number of times I've seen Auggie since his accident."

"I know. Life changes a person though, resets your priorities," Annie alluded to Auggie's dad's death and the new baby, both kind of major life milestones for one year.

"It is so strange, that man is both completely different from and exactly like the little boy he was. I don't know what I thought he was doing all this time, but I expected him to be a stranger," Joyce admitted.

"What was he like as a child, I can't imagine it and I guess I should probably know in case Grace takes after him," Annie smiled.

"He was so smart Annie, it was shocking actually, he could ready by 3, entered Kindergarten early and then was moved ahead in grade school, graduated from high school early. At first we passed it off as the result of having 4 brothers, that he was practically in a classroom at home, and then his intellect manifested itself as boredom, he wasn't challenged enough. He was always sweet and thoughtful, quieter than his brothers, more serene, but at the same time I knew he was going to end up doing something severe, something dangerous. John was so mad when Auggie said he was going to Iraq, but I just knew," Joyce shook her head sadly.

Annie had no idea how much Joyce really knew about Auggie's career, but she certainly knew her son.

"I also thought he might be gay," Joyce said as Annie sipped a glass of water and nearly did a spit take.

"You did?" she croaked.

"Well, statistically I figured one of the boys would be and Auggie never had a girlfriend, not a serious one any way, the entire time he lived at home. And once he left, I never even heard about a girl until Parker and that ended so quickly I just figured he was covering," Joyce shrugged.

"He's not gay," Annie grinned.

"I figured that out the first time I saw him with you."

"I love him so much."

"I know Annie, and you have no idea how much that soothes my heart," the older woman hugged her.

"Someone might be a little hungry," Auggie announced as he interrupted the quiet moment.

"You just had a huge dinner," Annie teased her husband.

Grace announced her impatience at her parents banter with a loud wail.

"OK, OK, OK," Annie cooed and scooped the baby from Auggie's arms.

"I'll take over here," Auggie offered and Annie rewarded him with a kiss.

"You two are pretty good at this, for newbies," Joyce grinned.

***555***

Annie normally asked if nursing would bother someone before beginning, but when the someone was Danielle she didn't think she needed to ask. She took the baby to the corner of the couch and settled herself comfortably, made sure the baby was content and then closed her eyes and sighed.

"You're a natural," Danielle laughed.

"Joyce just said something similar, were you all afraid we were going to be bad at this?"

"No, but you have to admit it is a little anomalous, you two do not scream picket fence," Danielle said quietly.

Annie just laughed.

"Auggie is so cute with her," Danielle observed.

"Isn't he? It is ridiculous sometimes, I can't take it," Annie mocked but the look on her face told Danielle the whole story, told her how very much in love her little sister was.

"Kitchen is spotless," Auggie declared with a grin.

"Thanks, you want to take her?" Annie passed the freshly fed baby off to her husband with a cloth for the inevitable spit up.

"Sure, no one has spit up on me today," he smiled knowing that was not true for Annie.

He made a joke but Annie knew that he loved being part of feeding the baby even the littlest bit. Danielle yawned, at first Annie thought she was putting on a show, but her sister really looked tired.

"I hardly slept on the red eye," she explained.

"I could use a good night's sleep too," Joyce agreed.

Plans were made for the next day and soon their guests were gone. With the door closed Annie suddenly felt the quiet and a tiny wave of nervousness passed over her.

"You OK?" Auggie sensed the mood shift.

"I am," she said and kissed him, the baby sleeping on his shoulder.

"I'm going to put her down," Auggie explained.

"Then come to bed…." It was almost a question.

"Yeah," he said quietly, a small smile on his face.

***555***

Grace woke during transfer to the crib and Auggie stayed with her, rubbed her tummy and turned on the hacked mobile to play a little Duke Ellington for her. This was calming for the baby and Auggie both. He and Annie had gone from 0 to hot in the bathroom earlier and the last thing he wanted to do was ruin this, if this is what he thought it was. Auggie was a man, and a blind man at that, but he tried hard to be as aware as he could be about his wife, they had had their share of missed signals in the past. He was certain he got the message earlier, but he wanted this to be as perfect as it could be for her, to let her know how much he loved her and wanted her without pressuring her if she wasn't really ready.

The baby was long asleep when Auggie realized it, turned off the mobile and pulled the door closed.

"Annie?" he asked as he entered the bedroom.

"In here," she called from the bathroom, although it sounded like the door was open.

Auggie undressed, realized his hands were shaking as he unfastened his pants. It had only been 2 months since they last had sex, but it felt like a million years, as if the time before Grace was born was another lifetime.

"Hey," Annie said, her voice a little breathy when she saw him standing there in just his boxers.

"Hi," he said, his smile brilliant.

"Why are we acting like teenagers?" she chuffed out a laugh.

"I'm not sure," Auggie blushed.

"It is pretty silly," Annie agreed.

"Why are you so far away?" Auggie chuckled as she seemed to still be over by the bathroom door.

"I'm kind of frozen by how beautiful you are," she admitted.

"Come here," he said shyly.

She walked to him then, his hand extended towards her. She took it, laced their fingers together and allowed him to pull her to him. He held her there then, his arm around her, her cheek on his chest and he just held her.

"Is this?" he asked as his fingers moved over the soft cotton.

"Your favorite tee shirt, yes. My sexy pajamas still don't quite fit right," she said frustrated.

"For the record, anything you wear to bed with the intention of letting me taking it off, is sexy. Anything," he repeated as he lifted the tee shirt up and off her body.

She kissed him then, no longer shy, wanting every inch of their bodies to touch.

"Bed…" she stuttered between kisses.

"Mmmmm," he agreed and shuffled them in that direction.

Annie could feel how ready he was yet he slowed them down, prolonged his kisses. Annie realized for the first time in forever she was not exhausted, she felt good and with the baby fed and asleep they might actually have enough time to enjoy this.

"I've missed you, missed this," she said.

"I'm all yours," he offered.

"You've been so patient, so sweet," she kept kissing, unable to give up the lure of his lips and tongue.

"This isn't about me Annie, this is about us, this is everything," he reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Make love to me?" she asked.

"Gladly," he smiled and pulled her towards him.

"Can you? Can we? Like this? I missed having you this close," she pulled him on top of her, nose to nose, a position that was impossible with the baby in between them.

"Sure," he rubbed his nose against hers.

"But we, um, we need…." She felt like a teenager again.

"Right! I love that little girl, but we don't need another one right away," he smiled.

She reached into the nightstand and found a condom, glad she had thought ahead and picked them up when she needed toothpaste the other day.

"Sorry about this, I have been breastfeeding pretty consistently, but I don't want to take that chance," she babbled.

"Annie, I would wear a hazmat suit if you asked," he laughed.

"In our line of work? That might not be as farfetched as you meant it," she smirked.

Annie let go of all her apprehension and sank into the bed, Auggie's solid weight on top of her, around her, within her.

***555***

When they finished both of them froze, afraid they might have woken up the baby, after a few seconds of quiet Auggie kissed his wife deeply and moved away to clean up.

He slid back into bed and scooped Annie into his arms, molding his front to her back, tracing delicate patterns on her thigh.

"You OK?" he asked cautiously.

"I'm still pretty hormonal," she said shakily.

"But that was OK, right?" he was now concerned.

"Oh Auggie, that was so much more than OK," she turned in his arms and kissed him over and over.

"Yeah?"

"Oh yeah. If I thought it wouldn't be absolute torture I would say we should wait 2 months before we do it again. That was amazing," she smiled.

"Good," he whispered into the next kiss.

"I've always liked sex, been able to isolate from deeper emotion, but I think there actually is something to combining sex with love and I love you in a way I have never loved before and doubt I will ever love again," she said.

He kept quiet, Annie so rarely getting into the deeper side of their emotions.

"I love that baby completely; I would throw myself in front of a bus for her. I have thrown myself in front of a bullet for Danielle, but you Auggie, you I love in this open way, this all-encompassing way that I can't explain, I've never experienced it before."

"I read once that the idea of soul mates is flawed, that it is not some random mystical assignment, but that it is a process you have to work to achieve," Auggie said quietly in the solitude of their bed.

"We worked really hard for this," Annie sniffled.

"It was worth it," he kissed her softly and covered them both with the blankets.

***555***

Several weeks later Auggie's cell phone rang as he and Annie were watching a movie, the caller was announced as Joan Campbell.

"Sorry," he kissed the side of Annie's head and wriggled out from their spot snuggled together.

"Hello," he said as he moved towards the kitchen area.

Annie could only hear his side of the conversation, which included several 'sures' and 'that's fines'.

Annie paused the DVD.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"No idea, she wants to see us both, she's coming tomorrow morning at 11:00."

"OK," Annie shrugged.

***555***

11:00 am on the dot on a cool Saturday morning in December, Joan Campbell arrived. Annie had made tea and bought some scones from Clara's. Grace was strapped to Auggie in the Moby and content for the time being and the 3 adults sat at the dining room table.

"Auggie, I want to offer you the job as head of the DPD, officially, it has been cleared through all channels," Joan said with her trademark small smile.

"Really?" he asked and turned his head towards Annie.

"Really," Joan confirmed.

"Annie?" Auggie asked silently looking for permission.

"That's wonderful news," she said and Auggie could tell she meant it.

"So Annie, the question to you is, do you want to work for your husband?"

The End….of Part III, Part IV will be called Escape Clause IV: Snapshots and will be a snapshot from each of the first 10 years of Grace's life. Tune in to see how these 3 balance work and home.


End file.
